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Honda apologise to Verstappen for PU error

Honda have apologised to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after they tried a PU mode in qualifying at the German Grand Prix that backfired.

The Dutchman complained of a loss of power in his RB15, forcing him to return to the pits and make a last-ditch run for a place in Q3, which he duly succeeded in.

He would qualify P2 to split the Mercedes, but Honda revealed that they went to a different power unit mode in Q2 which directly led to the power issues.

Speaking to reporters at the Hockenheimring, Honda’s apologetic racing director Toyoharu Tanabe said: “It’s great to have Max on the front row and Pierre [Gasly] right behind him on the grid in a career best fourth place.

“However, we must say sorry to Max, as there was a problem with the PU settings when we tried a different mode in Q2, which did not work.”

Verstappen said that as soon as he crossed the start-finish line he knew something wasn’t right.

“I tried a different mode for that run,” he said.

“But as soon as I crossed the start-finish line, somehow it just cut out, lost a bit of power.

“You know your lap is ruined, so I backed off, I went into the boxes, just to check everything, and we went out again.”